The Kitchen Glow Up

The kitchen glow up

From 90’s design nightmare to a fresh and modern biophilic family kitchen.

Before

1990’s kitchen makeover into bright modern blue kitchen with trellis plants

After

A greasy start

The listing pictures of my 1914 bungalow did not reveal how grimy this kitchen was (do they ever?!). However, more troubling than the grease, was the truly heinous mismatched 90’s elements. Brownish-green linoleum counters with deep red walls, yellowed appliances, and even a wall paper border (remember those?) Here’s the story of how I transformed this design nightmare into a dream kitchen!

Minimal changes for maximum impact

how to prioritize projects on a budget

Like most first time home owners, I was big on ideas and short on cash. I kept the layout of the kitchen, the cabinets, and opted for budget-friendly DIY fixes for the rest. Here are the three changes that made the biggest impact!

Oldest son helping paint over old wallpaper border for modern blue kitchen makeover — My oldest helped paint over the old border with a bright navy blue. The heavily textured red walls got about a million coats of white maintenance paint as well.

Using countertop paint for dream kitchen makeover on a budget

1. Paint, paint, and more paint

So fresh and clean

Nearly everything was painted, even the countertops! Aside from the smell, this Rust-oleum paint worked great as a base coat for the countertops. A clear resin epoxy with faux marbling was added after the paint dried. The marbling really elevates the space. And resin is so easy to care for, you can even put hot things on it! Plus not replacing the countertops saves $$$.

2. Tile is worth the investment

Cement tile is beautiful and affordable!

1990’s kitchen gets modern bright update on a budget

The cabinet and microwave above the stove were relocated and replaced with decorative cement tile. I think this had the biggest impact on the space in terms of giving a high-end feel in a modest space. And waste not want not…the cabinet was used to make a micro mud room for the back door!

Morkie puppy in bright blue and white modern kitchen with trellis and decorative tile

Violet the morkie puppy!

3. Appliances: cover what you can’t replace

The don’t make ‘em like they used to

The dishwasher and stove were replaced. While I can’t pretend that was low budget, it was necessary, and decreased the decor budget accordingly 😜. A new refrigerator was absolutely not possible. Luckily the fridge cleaned up (thanks mom)! These 1980’s refrigerators will probably outlive us all!

Old refrigerator makeover diy with gold handles camouflages fridge — Fun fact: the blue that dominates the kitchen is opps paint! I love to look in the mistint section for less expensive paint. Sometimes there are really nice colors (see above) and much higher quality paint than I could normally afford. I have been known to design entire rooms based around opps paint!

I love the functionality of this fridge but the look was not giving the right vibes to say the least. Especially after painting the room white, it was looking practically canary yellow. I decided to cover it with beadboard painted in the same blue as the kitchen. Molding inspired by the original details in home was added along with oversized gold handles. It’s one of my favorite parts of the kitchen!